Police nab man accused of assaulting sleeping women in hotel

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — A man accused of sneaking into hotel rooms and sexually assaulting his victims as they slept has been arrested following a sting operation in northern Virginia.

Thrity-one-year-old Brandon C. Murdock of Front Royal was charged with burglary and attempted aggravated sexual assault, Prince William County police said Monday.

Police believe Murdock entered rooms at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Manassas and sexually assaulted a 63-year-old woman visiting from overseas in September and two teenage girls on a school-related trip from South Korea last October.

In both cases, the victims said they woke up to a man touching them inappropriately, but he fled. Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the women's rooms.

On Thursday, investigators reserved a room at the hotel and placed a decoy there in order to catch the suspect. They said Murdock entered the room, attempted to approach the bed where the decoy was placed and was immediately apprehended.

Police spokesman Jonathan Perok declined to say what the decoy was, but said it was not a real person or a dummy.

Police said additional charges are pending against Murdock. It's unclear if he has an attorney.